MLB: The biggest winners and losers of the offseason so far
Winner: Texas Rangers
The Rangers came into the offseason with a clear need at starting pitching, and they did just about everything they could to improve at that position. Texas signed the best pitcher on the market in Jacob deGrom, giving them the best starting pitcher they’ve had in their rotation since Nolan Ryan. Southpaw Andrew Heaney was a nice addition too. The lefty is coming off his best season in Los Angeles, posting a 3.10 ERA off 72.2 innings pitched. Hopefully the lefty can have another strong season in the Lone Star State.
Extending starting pitcher Martin Perez a qualifying offer was another victory from this front office. The durable lefty is coming off a career season, and will be able to eat innings for a somewhat injury-prone starting rotation.
I still think the Rangers need another quality bat and bullpen help to seriously contend, but this offseason was an awesome step in the right direction. Well done, Rangers!
Winner: New York Yankees
What if I told you coming into this offseason that the Yankees would resign Aaron Judge, and then add another huge piece? Well, they did just that, resigning their captain and then adding the best lefty pitcher on the market, former Giants ace Carlos Rodon. The Yankees now have a truly formidable 1-2-3 playoff punch in Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Nestor Cortes Jr. Watch out, AL East!
The only real hole now is shortstop, which they have plenty of options to fill with. Top prospects Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza could certainly fill the void. Former Phillies shortstop Jean Segura is another potential option too. Regardless, this offseason was a huge victory for Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees organization as a whole. Now can they back it up with a championship?
Loser: Boston Red Sox
The Chaim Bloom era in Boston is officially a dumpster fire. The Red Sox were a last-place, below .500 team last season with Xander Bogaerts. Now, the four time All-Star and team captain is gone. This not only hurts the overall lineup and clubhouse, but also the chances of Rafael Devers resigning with Boston. Reports came out recently that the Red Sox are “galaxies apart” in negotiations, with Devers’ camp expecting him to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2023.
Meanwhile, the rotation remains a disaster. The Red Sox were in need of a front-line, number one starter coming into free agency. Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, and Carlos Rodon were on the market, but the Sox never made a strong push for any of these prized arms. It looks as if the team will settle for Nathan Eovaldi or Michael Wacha to be at the top of their rotation, both of whom are still unsigned. This is completely unacceptable for a team that plans on “contending.”
You’d think the disappointment would end there, but unfortunately there’s more. After just 39 MLB at-bats, the Red Sox designated for assignment former top prospect Jeter Downs, who was a centerpiece of the trade that sent star outfielder Mookie Betts to Los Angeles. In addition, the Red Sox also cut first baseman Eric Hosmer, who was thought to be a mentor for top first base prospect Triston Casas. With Downs being released, the white flag has finally been raised on the Mookie Betts trade. It’s now clear the Dodgers front office made an absolute mockery of Bloom in arguably the worst trade in Red Sox history.
The sole victory of this offseason is the signing of Justin Turner, a consistent veteran player who will bring some strong offensive production to this lineup. With Devers likely on the way out, and the Red Sox likely remaining at the bottom of the AL East, Red Sox fans should expect a brutal 2023 season ahead.
Loser: San Francisco Giants
It was a really important offseason for the San Francisco Giants, who came into the offseason with more than $100 million in cap space. Their front office rose to the occasion (or at least so we thought) with the signing of Twins shortstop Carlos Correa. However, the deal fell through, with Correa reportedly showing some concerning medical findings that the Giants disapproved of so much that the All-Star shortstop was suddenly an afterthought.
We also forget that the Giants just let Carlos Rodon walk for absolutely nothing at the end of the season. The Giants were 51-51 at the trade deadline, and definitely could have cashed in on some nice prospects if they traded Rodon at the deadline. Instead, they kept him around for a meaningless second half of the season, and they didn’t even make an attempt to resign him.
The Giants made a bunch of small, quality signings but, in the grand scheme of things, they won’t make a big enough impact. They still aren’t as talented as the Padres and Dodgers, two fellow NL West competitors who the Giants had a combined 12-28 record against last year.
Could the Giants pull off another 2021 season where they win another 107 games with a similar, somewhat weak roster?
Loser: Baltimore Orioles
We heard GM Mike Elias rave about the “significant escalation” of the Orioles payroll moving forward. Well, the Orioles haven’t escalated anything, with their lone signings consisting of starting pitcher Kyle Gibson and infielder Adam Frazier. It seems eerily similar to past Orioles offseasons, where they sign a veteran or two and ship them at the deadline. As FanGraphs MLB Insider Dan Szymborski tweeted, he “didn’t hear from anyone” that the Orioles were serious about signing any “elite free agents.” The Orioles clearly need upgrades in the lineup and rotation if they are serious about playoff contention, which is why this behavior is so baffling.
Even with the Gibson signing, this rotation still needs a lot of work. This team lacks elite starting pitching, and Baltimore will not be able to contend until they acquire it. With Carlos Rodon signing with the Yankees, the last true elite starting pitcher is officially off the board. The Orioles will come in with Dean Kremer as their number one starter, an option that won’t suffice for a playoff contender.
We must realize that Elias is incredibly good at what he does. It’s totally sensible for him to pump the brakes on this playoff hype and have the Orioles take another year to develop their young talent in Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Stowers and Grayson Rodriguez. Perhaps that’s a reason for him not spending? Maybe this team got a little too lucky last year and we’re overestimating their contending status?
Next. About that Orioles-Mets trade for James McCann. dark
This is by no means an incompetent front office. It’s an organization with a plan, a plan they will stick too so they can bring championships to Baltimore.